Poole · Dorset
Patios in Poole
The level of the back door sets the level of the patio, which is why a Poole terrace is worked out from the house outwards.
01
Where the paving meets the house
The finished surface has to sit clear below the damp proof course and fall away from the wall, so that rain runs off into the garden instead of standing against the brickwork. Those two requirements together fix the height of everything else, and there is usually less room to play with than people expect. Where sliding doors or bifolds have gone in and the old step has been taken out, the way to keep a flush threshold is a channel drain running across the doors, which catches the water at the one point where the fall would otherwise have to run back towards the house. Where the garden sits below the back door the terrace is held up rather than dug in, and the step arrangement is worked out so the first tread is comfortable straight out of the door. Getting a wheelchair or a pushchair out onto the paving is a level access question, and it is far easier to design in at the start than to cut into a finished terrace afterwards.
02
Shade, salt and the choice of stone
Branksome Park and Canford Cliffs sit under heavy pine cover, and a terrace there is in steady shade with needles and resin dropping onto it all year. An open-textured stone holds the needles and the resin, and greens up where the same slab would stay clean in an open garden a mile inland, so a smoother sawn stone or a textured porcelain is easier to keep on top of, and a paler surface lifts a corner that never gets direct sun. Closer to the water it is salt in the air rather than shade. Anything holding a balustrade, a screen or a pergola on a waterfront plot wants stainless fixings, A4 grade right on the front, with hot-dip galvanised as a fallback rather than a first choice. The outer edge needs holding too, with a kerb or an edging course, since paving bedded on sand will not keep a line on its own.
Covering Poole
We provide patios throughout Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and the surrounding parts of Dorset. Call 07926 470907 for a free, no-obligation estimate.
How it works
Simple, straightforward process
- 1
Get in touch
Call, message or use the enquiry form. Tell us roughly what you need and we’ll arrange a convenient time to come and look.
- 2
Free estimate
We visit, measure up and talk through the options and materials — then give you a clear estimate, free and with no obligation.
- 3
The work
We agree a date, turn up when we say we will and get on with it, keeping you informed and keeping the site tidy as we go.
- 4
The walk-round
We walk the finished job through with you and leave everything clean. If anything isn’t right, tell us and we’ll put it right.
